Booth Studies Bones
by saragillie
Summary: Brennan catches Booth doing something unexpected.
1. Chapter 1

Brennan stopped outside of the door to Booth's office and raised her hand to knock. Through the glass she could see he was looking at some kind of a poster. She knocked and then entered.

She walked to his desk and looked down at his desk. "A poster of the human skeletal system, Booth?"

He said, "Yeah. I have to sign off on some of your reports and I need to make sure I know what I'm signing. Hence the poster and a dictionary." He motioned in the general direction of his bookshelf.

Brennan walked over and noticed not just one dictionary but several. She turned to face him and quirked an eyebrow at him. "I'll turn you into a squint yet," she threatened.

He rose from behind his desk, choosing to ignore her last remark. "Are you ready to question our suspect, Bones?"

Late one evening a few days later, Brennan stopped by Booth's apartment so they could finish a couple of reports. As they worked the papers took over more and more of the empty space on his living room floor.

Brennan completed her part of the work quickly and began to fidget in her seat. He looked up and said, "I'll just be a few minutes. Why don't you head back to my office and see if there's something interesting on my bookshelves?"

She walked into his office and started perusing the shelves. _Fiction, fiction, and more fiction. Didn't the man own anything worth reading?_ Remembering his comments about guys organizing methods and inferring that he preferred fiction to non-fiction, she checked the bottom right corner. There were a few college textbooks and what looked like gift books. _His idea of crap is interesting. I wonder what he considers good._

She stretched to see what was in the top left corner of his shelf and was surprised to find _An Introduction to Physical Anthropology_ next to_ The Basics of Forensic Science_, copies of her books and the latest Stephen King novel. Curious, she turned to his desk and noticed an open journal. Marking his place with her finger, she closed to read the title. _A forensics journal, not exactly what I expected to find here._ She grabbed the journal off his desk and returned to her seat. Before she started to read the first article, she glanced at him in amusement.

About twenty minutes later, Booth looked up. "Hey Bones, I'm done." He pushed the file toward her and started to stretch. When he saw what she was reading, he froze for a moment and then said urgently, "I hope you didn't lose my place."

"No, Booth, I didn't. I put a bookmark in it." She tossed him another amused glance. "You have some interesting titles in your 'good stuff' section. How long have you been studying up on science, forensics, and anthropology?"

Booth looked abashed and said, "Oh, a few months." At her hard stare, he muttered, "Okay, so it's more like nine."

"What? I didn't catch that last bit," she said with a small grin.

He cleared his throat, embarrassed, and repeated himself a little more loudly.

She looked at him curiously. "Why are you doing this?"

He quickly replied, "Self defense." She looked confused so he explained, "It looks like I'm going to be the Jeffersonian liaison for a while. I'm tired of not understanding what you and the squints say, you know. I was getting tired of asking for translations from squint speak to modern English. "

"But you're still demanding them." Brennan still looked confused.

"Oh, I'm beginning to understand more and more of your squint speak, but I'm still learning. It wouldn't do for me to assume I understood something and then get it wrong. The translations help me test how my knowledge is progressing."

Brennan's confusion turned into a full-blown smile. "I've been turning you into a squint for the past nine months and I didn't even know it."

"Oh no, you haven't. I've just been trying to improve our communication," Booth objected.

Brennan's smile grew even wider. "All these months I've had two interns and I didn't even know it! I'd be happy to assist you in improving our communication," she said, using air quotes around the phrase "improving our communication."

Booth looked at her, amused in spite of himself, and said, "Nice use of air quotes. You learn them from Angela?"

"Nope. You. I've been trying to master a broader variety of pop culture references and understand non-verbal communication better by observing you." She winked at him.

Booth couldn't help the grin that came to his face. "Hey, Bones. Let's make a deal. I'll explain my pop culture references if you'll help me with deciphering this article I'm reading."

She looked at him for a minute and a smile broke over her face. "Works for me, Booth."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks to everyone for their reviews. passionfornight asked if I would consider continuing the story. A little bit of inspiration came to me the other day, and this is the result. Enjoy!**

A few weeks later, Booth walked into Bones office. Seeing she was alone, he said quietly, "I need some help."

Brennan looked confused. "Help with what? And why are we whispering?"

Booth answered, "I'm stuck on one of those, you know…" and he gestured with his hand. "I'm whispering because I don't want anybody to know."

"Oh… I get it. I have some free time this evening. Your place or mine?" Brennan smiled.

"Mine. Does 8 o'clock work for you?"

"Sure. See you then," Brennan said.

As Booth left her office, he passed Angela just outside the door.

Angela entered Brennan's office and said, "Ohhh… what were you two whispering about? Making plans to get together with your hunky partner later?" Angela wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. "Did you finally decide to take a ride on that train?"

Brennan rolled her eyes. "Did you need something Angela?"

Brennan balanced the takeout boxes on one hand and knocked on the door with the other. Booth answered quickly and grabbed the boxes from her.

In less than five minutes the takeout strewn all over the coffee table and the two were digging in. The conversation ranged from Parker to the release of Brennan's next book. When they were finished, Booth collected the empty containers.

As he headed to the kitchen he asked, "Do you want another beer?"

She nodded and he returned a minute later with two beer bottles and a journal. The two settled next to each other on the couch. After he opened to the article he was having difficulty with, he handed it to Brennan. While Brennan reviewed the article, Booth enjoyed the sensation of sitting near her. Every time she turned a page her arm brushed his, and a tingling sensation would start at the contact point and travel up his arm. Her unique combination of looks and intelligence were intoxicating, and he couldn't help but admire her. _She's so beautiful when she focuses on something and I can watch her unnoticed._

"Booth, why are you staring at me?" Brennan asked, giving him a sidelong glance.

_Or not._ "Ummm… I was just watching to see when you were done," he replied. _Good one, man. Get your act together. She's here to help you learn forensics and biology, not to fulfill your fantasies._

Booth cleared his throat, turned to the page he was having trouble with, and laid the journal out on the coffee table. Leaning toward the journal, Brennan explained the basic idea and then started working through the details.

When Booth leaned forward to look at the diagram she was pointing at, he became intensely aware of the proximity of their bodies. They sat side by side, legs touching. A shiver ran through him.

Brennan turned to ask him a question, but the look in his eyes made her forget what she was going to say. She didn't recognize this particular expression, and it made her nervous.

"Hey, I think I need a restroom break," she said before quickly standing up and heading toward the bathroom.

As she walked, he admired the way her hips swayed. _She looks especially good today. Most people notice her looks first, but are put off by her directness and lack of social skills. I was… at first. The ones that get past that usually don't know how to deal with her brilliance. Since we had to work together, I had to figure that out too. But her intelligence challenges me to be better at my job, and her lack of social skills only make her human. _

Brennan walked into the kitchen and grabbed some fresh beers. Booth's eyes followed her. _She looks so good I could kiss her. Don't go there! She came to help you with this article, not to be romanced._

Booth tried to focus his attention on the article, but was distracted when she plopped down beside him. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't seem to focus on anything besides her.

Brennan waved a hand in front of his face. "Earth to Booth. Come in Booth. Is anyone there?"

He laughed. "Sorry. I'm a bit distracted tonight."

"I noticed," she said. "It's getting late. Maybe we should continue this another time?"

Booth nodded his agreement, and sighed inwardly. _That will give me some time to get my thoughts under control._

She stood and headed toward the door. "See you tomorrow, Booth."

He closed the door behind her and rushed to the window. _I just want to know she got out of here safely. _But another part of his mind rejected this. _Right. You just want to watch her for as long as you can._ He watched as she exited his building, got into her car, and drove away.

As he prepared for bed, images of the two of them from the beginning of their partnership through to their most recent case swirled in his head. It was no surprise that he dreamed of her that night.


End file.
